Salvation
by Walks-the-Umbra
Summary: When this was started, the English names for GSC POkemon were unofficial. In order to keep with continuity, I'm going to still use the Japanese names. I suggest you get familiar with them unless you want to be totally lost.
1. Prologue

## Salvation

### Prologue

"And this," the tour guide pointed to the huge pyramid behind him, "Is the Legendary Temple. Crafted thousands of years ago by ancient peoples, this Temple has lasted a long time of weathering and destruction to stand before us today." The people in the crowd gave a hushed "Ooh" and "Aw" when they saw it. The tour guide continued. "Are there any questions?"

Hands shot up almost immediately. "Why is it called legendary?" asked one woman.

The guide smiled. "A very good question. According to ancient stories, this temple houses the famous Legendary Pokemon that no man has ever seen. They are said to hide deep within the Temple, never coming out even for food or air, never seeing the sunlight of the outdoors. They are the most fierce Pokemon one could ever encounter, and are rumored to bring the 3 Saviors to defend against the oncoming Evil of the world." he laughed. "But of course, that's just a story."

A little boy near the front of the group stepped forward. "Can we go inside?" he asked shyly.

The tour guide shook his head. "I'm afraid not, young man. This Temple hasn't been fully explored yet, and there may be traps in there that we don't know about yet." He looked at the clipboard he carried. "But according to this, it should be open to the public within a month or so, so maybe you'll get to see it then." He smiled down at the little boy, who stepped back into the crowd.

"Are there really live Pokemon still in there?"

"Not likely," answered the guide. "Pokemon need to breathe just as any creature does, and this place has only see light in the past few days. No, it's not very likely that there'll be anything alive in there."

That very night, a team of reserchers and diggers entered the Temple. They always waited until night, of course, so it would be cooler, the place could air out a little more, and tourists wouldn't get in the way of their work.

One of the men looked at a map by torchlight, then looked to a wall. "The map says there's something behind this wall."

Diggers got to work, chipping away carefully at the heavy stones that made up the wall. It took a good hour before enough of them came away to let a body through. Holding the torch into the hole, they could see that there was indeed another hallway leading down. 

One of the diggers laughed tiredly. "This old place's just full of surprises, eh, Boss?"

No one answered him as they began to crawl through the hole to the other side. The hallway beyond it was narrow, and there was only room enough for them to go single file down it. Not that that bothered them. Down the hallway they went, the people with the torches leading the way.

A huge cavern lay at the end, well lit from some unseen force. It was quite fortunate for it to be lit, as the torches blew out the second they entered.\par \tab "Gas?" asked one man cautiously.

Another carefully smiffed the air. "Doesn't smell like any. Maybe it was the wind." But none of them could see any opening for wind to blow through.

There was a startled gasp from the researcher with the map, and everyone turning to look at him. "There's --" He cleared his throat and started again. "Accoriding to the map, we're not even in the Temple anymore. We've gone well past the boundry."

That puzzled the rest of the workers. "That's odd," said one. "You sure?"

He nodded. "Damn right, I'm sure! Why would I lie?"

One man with a torch spoke up next. "Either way, I think we should have a look around. This could be something good." The others nodded, and they began looking around the chamber.

It was a few minutes before anyone else spoke. "Does anyone find it odd that we just opened this place up, yet there's ample oxygen down here?"

"I was thinking the same thing," another answered. "Maybe this place has a venting system or something. Maybe another thing we should check into." Everyone else agreed.

Another shout of surprise made everyone run back to it's source. The map-man was staring at the wall. No, at a bunch of symbols on the wall. 

"Annon writings," he said in awe. "But I can't read them. Does anyone understand Annon?"

One of the diggers pushed his way through. "I do," he said. "Let me take a crack at it."

The group stood in silence as the digger read out the translation of the writings on the wall. "Whomsoever opens this place will bring upon the Evils of the world. As is legend, so it shall be life. The Great Beasts await in chambers beyond...... there's something here I can't quite get," he finished. "Something about 'Salvation' or something."

"The Great Beasts lie beyond salvation?" joked one. "Sounds pretty depressing, if you ask me."

"And there's an arrow." They looked in the direction the Annon arrow pointed in to see another hallway. Shorter this time; they could tell. They could see the end leading into another chamber. "I say, let's go." The others agreed with him, and off they went.

The second they stepped into the second chamber, a loud roar filled the air, followed by two others, each of them different from the first. The cries echoed against the walls, bouncing back to scare the researchers once again.

"What the hell was that?" whispered the digger who had translated the writings. 

No one answered. They were all staring straight ahead. Three statues stood on pedastals, in the shape of great cats. The stone looked to have been shining white marble, something quite rare in that part of the world, and very hard.

And that very hard stone was cracking.

Hairline cracks in the statues started to grow bigger and bigger, chunks of it falling away to reveal startling colors underneath. The group of men could do nothing but stare, as they were paralyzed in fear and wonder at once.

In a loud roar from all three of them, all the stone gave way, crumbling and falling to the floor. There before the men stood three magnificent beasts. One looked vaguely tiger-like, with a zig-zag tail, and stripes that looked like lightning bolts. Another was red-orange, and looked like the strongest and most sturdy of them all with it's lion form. The third and final one was blue, with what looked like streamers running down it's body, and long ears. Or was it one big ear? They couldn't tell. 

The creatures looked at them men and bared their teeth, roaring loudly at the intrusion. When the humans didn't move, the creatures pounced at them, claws and fangs bared, hissing and snarling.

The final screams could not be heard in the dead of the night. 


	2. Chapter 1

Just a note. I'm using the Japanese names for the Gold/Silver Pokemon. Even though by the time this is completed, GS will have been out for some time, and all the names will have been released, I prefer the official Japanese ones to names that may change later on. 

Also, the Kanpusu tribe was created by me, as was the language. If such a tribe actually exists and uses those words, then it's one hell of a coincidence, and/or I ought to be praised for my psychic powers! Aricone is not a real town to my knowledge. And all the characters with the exception of any mentioned Pokemon are mine, and no one else's. The Pokemon . . . well, you know who they belong to.

## Salvation

### Chapter 1

Calmar casually brushed a leafy branch aside from his path, his aide, Padda, following quickly behind him. The walk was standard for them both now, the casual daily walk through section 2A of the Hitok Pokemon Preserve.

Brushing aside a buzzing mosquito, Padda began to write notes on the notepadhe carried. "Butterfree nest #3: 10 occupants." "Sandshrew fill #5: 6 holes." And so on, and so forth. Padda had only had been on the job at Hitok for two months, and was more than a little determined to be a good aide to Calmar and keep that job. He certainly enjoyed it.

Something caught their attention simultaneously, and they ran to it. In the middle of the path lay something large and bright red, blocking the way.

What the--?" Calmar bit off a curse as he bent down beside it to take a closer look. "Pidgeot," he muttered. The chest had been ripped open, feathers were scattered everywhere, and the red blood stained the body and ground, not quite dry. Calmar touched it gently, and instantly jerked his hand back.

"What is it?" asked Padda, fighting hard not to be sick right there and then. Surely an aide must have to get used to seeing such thing, right?

Calmar shook his hand to the side as if to shake off pain. "Electrical energy," he answered. "A shock must have brought this thing down."

"A Pikachu? Could have been looking for food," Padda suggested.

Calmar shook his head. "Pikachu are herbivores. And there's too much energy buildup here for an ordinary Pikachu to have discharged at once."

"Then what --?" asked Padda, more to himself than to Calmar.

Calmar answered anyway. "We'd know if there were any Zapdos nests here, but the closest one is in Zenig," he said, naming the second of the three sister Pokemon Preserves. "There's no water here for a Raantaan, and there aren't any tracks to indicate Mokoko or denryuu." He shook his head. "I just don't know what could have caused this."

He straightened and pulled out a remote two-way radio. "Ranger Calmar to Base. Repeat, this is Ranger Calmar calling Base."

It took a few seconds for the reply to come. "Base here, Calmar. Anything to report?" Calmar relayed the situation to base, while Padda just looked at the body of the Pidgeot. "Roger that," came the reply through the small radio. "Fadden reported the same thing with a Mirutanku not ten minutes ago. Better come back in so we can send out the Hunters to find this thing."

Padda was more than surprised. He'd been there long enough to know that the Hunters were only used for capturing extremely wild and dangerous Pokemon, and hadn't been used in at least ten years. This must be more extreme than he'd thought.

"Copy. Over and out." Calmar put the two-way back in his pocket and turned away from the mutilated body. "Let's g, Padda."

The two walked swiftly and silently off back the way they came, completely unaware of the two eyes watching them from the darkness of the trees.

"Reports indicate that more severe storms will be hitting the coast town or Aricone. Citizens are advised to prepare in the same way as before, and to stay in or near their homes at all times."

Dr Salenza turned off the television and sighed. Time to fasten the upstairs shutters again. These storms were just getting worse and worse as the month went on. True, he had just moved to Aricone a few weeks ago, but storms this severe and this frequent just weren't normal for any part of the world.

Getting up from his chair, he went to the window and looked out at the nearby ocean. Clouds in the distance were already black, and flashing with lightning. No, not normal at all.

Suddenly, a strange urge came over him. An urge to leave the house. Not knowing how to explain away how he felt, he grabbed his coat and hat and went outside. He was always one to follow his instincts.

He walked for five minutes before he reached a ledge overlooking the water, fenced off at the edge to prevent people from falling off. Salenze leant on the top bar and stared out at the churning waters of the ocean below.

He wasn't aware of the first raindrops falling, nor was he even consciously aware of the waters become more and more violent. He lost himself in the deepness of the ocean, staring at one spot as if nothing else mattered.

He remained like that until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he noticed finally the torrents of rain, the raging winds, and the thunder and lightning directly overhead. A man in a yellow raincoat and hat was looking at him strangely.

"Sir," said the man. "Sir, you have to get inside fast. The storm's here!" He was clearly shouting, but his voice could barely be heard amid the storm's own noises.

Salenza nodded and reluctantly turned away from his sopt by the ledge. It was a bad storm, he noted as he walked away, dripping wet. Just as had been predicted.

A pair of almost invisible eyes from the churning waters watched him leave.

Pa'kira was taller, faster and stronger than the other children of the newly discovered Kanpusu tribe, but she still joined in the other childrens' games.

At least, she did when they let her.

Because she was not from that tribe, her pale skin and eyes marked her as the freak, and the one to be avoided. As such, she would never lose the childish 'pa' in front of her name, and move on to being an woman. She would be a child until the day of her death. Some part of her knew that, and some part of her didn't really care. She was who she was, and it was meant to be that way.

Today, though, the children of the tribe didn't want her in their games. She was too good for them, and they all knew it. But today, perhaps they'd change and let her in.

Grinning and whispering, the younger children gathered in a circle and talked among themselves as Pa'kira stood on the outside, waiting patiently. Eventually, the mass seperated, and they all smiled at her. "Kayi! Kayi!" they said, meaning "Join us."

Pa'kira smiled back and ran to them, happy to not have to force her way into their play today, as she'd done so many times before. One of the children touched her arm, and then they scattered. Now was the time her skills shone. She could chase them faster than they could run, and she'd win the game. 

She chased the nearest one to her, but he was faster than he looked, and dodged out of the way of her hand. Laughing, she ran to another, who laughed at her as he climbed a nearby tree.

Pa'kira stopped at the tree and looked up to where the boy sat in the leafy branches. "Kei! Kei!" she called up to him, calling him a cheater. 

He laughed again at her, but wouldn't move from his branch. Pa'kira tried to ignore the other children who were running up close to her and lightly slapping her arms, a mockery to how she wasn't playing the game they'd let her join.

But soon, those light slaps turned harder and more painful, and Pa'kira couldn't help but turn to them to shout! As she did so, she recieved a sharp slap to the face. "Mendo!" she shouted at them, wanting them to stop, but it made no difference. The slaps turned to hard blows, punches and kicks. She had no choice but to run.

It was hard to get past the children surrounding her, but she eventually made her way out, running deep into the jungle area that surrounded the Kanpusu territory. An escape. That's all she cared about. Getting away from all those cruel blows.

The light began to fade as she ran deeped and deeper into the surrounding lands, and strange animal noises seemed to follow her, but she didn't care. Eventually tiring, she stopped running and sat down on the ground. Her calloused bare feet were sore from running, and bruises were already starting to worm on her arms and legs. She couldn't see the condition of her face, but it hurt, and that was enough for her. 

It was a few minutes before she bothered to look around at her location. She had gone further into the jungle than she'd ever been in her life, and she didn't recognise any land-signs around her. She mentally cursed herself for not paying attention to where she had been running. She hadn't even followed any specific trail!

But it was too late to worry about where'd she'd been going now. All that mattered was trying to find her way back.

She'd walked until the sun had almost set before she realised that she wouldn't be able to find Kanpusu again for a long time. 

Still, she didn't stop walking, even when the sun had fallen completely, and the full moon was all that lit her way. She was used to walking at night, and knew how to protect herself from whatever wild animals and Pokemon lived out there. Of course, she knew no distiction between the two aside from the fact that some Pokemon could use magical attacks, given to them by the Gods. They were all 'yebo' to her.

Then she noticed that the ground was sloping up, and the air was much hotter and harder to breathe than before. "Kimyo," she whispered. 'Strange'

Within a short time she saw what was creating such strange changes in the air. She'd come across a wide bowl of a red liquid, one she didn't dare to touch for fear of the heat. She could barely stand being near it, it was so hot. The liquid bubbled and glowed a bright red in the moonlight.

Without warning, the liquid exploded in a hot burst, moving upward and falling down in large drops. Pa'kira shouted and jumped back as far as she could, fearful that one of the drops may touch her. She didn't know what this stuff would do to her, and she didn't want to know. 

When she was out of range of the drops, she looked back at the glowing red stream that was still shooting into the sky. From the center, two glowing eyes, brighter than the hot liquid itself, stared back at her without blinking. Her own eyes widened in fear! What was that! A demon that could stand the heat that she couldn't?!

A deafening roar filled the air, and birds flew away from the tree branches in fright. Pa'kira was happy to join them! She ran off into the deep woods, her throat too tight to even scream, not daring to look back at the two red eyes she knew followed her as she went. 


	3. Chapter 2

Salvation Sorry for the delay in getting this out, folks, but I've been really busy. I've had an amazing amount of inspiration, but most of it goes towards getting good marks in my classes so I don't fail my last year of high school. That, and the other series I have on the go . . . Ugh, I'll never learn not to take on more than one project at once, will I? Anyway, to all those who are regulars at reading my Pokemon fics, I'd like to let you know that I'm going to focus on Salvation and Walks-the-Umbra for a while, and come back to The Black Spearow, The Blue Pages, The Gem League, and Past and Present later on when I have more time. (This goes out mostly to you, "Rocket-boy"! ^_^) Salvation Chapter 2 

Red lightning flashed overhead from the almost pure-black clouds, and no thunder went with it. Only lightning. Every so often it flashed, and it was as if it was controled by something, aimed carefully to hit something on the ground below.

All people in the town were in some sort of shelter from the 'storm', and only the foolish or dead remained outside. Well, with one exception. A lone girl stood atop a hill, looking over the town at the smoke and fire spreading from where the lightning had last struck. Another house gone. Another life lost. 

Another mission failed.

Hearing a scream from the bottom of the hill, she looked down to it. Towards her ran a man, flailing his flaming arms in all directions, trying to to extinguish the flames even as he did so. When he got close enough, he lunged at the girl, screaming at her, begging for salvation from the flames. The girl backed away a few steps, but still he lunged at her, now laughing loudly. Was the pain so bad that he had been driven insane?

Not able to stand looking at the burning man, the girl ran down the other side of the hill, desperately seeking any shelter she could find. The electrical energy in the air was strong enough that it could almost be felt . . . then suddenly, a release, and she heard the crackle of another lightning bolt being sent from the sky. 

Ah, there it was. A building to take shelter in at last. She just couldn't handle the pressure. She could do anything about what was going on. She'd failed. 

Running inside, she slammed the door behind her just as another bolt of lightning was let loose from the dark sky. In the building, people huddled in corners, shuddering in fear, talking and whispering among themselves. All noise stopped, however, as the girl walked in. All eyes turned to her, as if waiting for her to make some crucial move that would end all this madness.

Outside, another bolt came down . . . 

Meridian sat up straight in bed, mouth open in a silent scream, eyes wide but unseeing in her half-sleep. Slowly, her eyes came into focus as her brain fully comprehended the situation, and she closed her mouth, embarrassed that a mere dream could have disturbed her so much. She sighed, and lay back down, staring at the ceiling.

It hadn't been scary, really. Not in the sense that it had given her gossebumps, and that common dread of falling back asleep. But it had given her a haunted feeling, like something was off in the distance, but coming closer, and there was nothing she could do about it but sit back and watch. And that was what prevented her from sleeping right then.

Deciding that there was little point in studying her ceiling for the rest of the night, she rolled over and turned on the lamp that stood on her bedside table. It cast a warm yellow light over the room, but it still felt wrong somehow. Cold and empty.

It wasn't the first time dreams like this had happened to her. She'd been getting them since childhood. Ones that, when she woke up, she was still caught fully inside the dream, and she couldn't tell fantasy from reality. It used to scare her. Up until two years ago, she thought she might have been going insane. Now she just didn't care. Revel in the path of insanity, she thought to herself wryly. Don't suffer from it; enjoy every moment

Pressure on her feet, and a soft thump told her that she wasn't alone in the room, and she smiled. Vanyel, her pet Rattata, had jumped on the bed upon seeing that she was awake. Meridian picked him up and stroked his soft purple fur. Vanyel had been named after a character in one of her favorite books, and, as such, was one of her favorite pets.

She had a lot of pets in the house, really. With her parents away on business a lot of the time, she needed some sort of company, and took to keeping pets. Set, her Ekans, was curled up in a corner by her television; Seraph the Growlithe lay next to it. Hydrolic, a Horsea, swam around a large fishtank with Prince the Goldeen. And finally, the perch that held up a sleeping Pidgey was by her window.

And that was just what could be found in her room.

Fortunately for her, her parents approved of her keeping Pokemon as pets. The species was slowly dying out in the wild, and great lengths were being taken to preserve the wonderful creatures. But due to the overwhelming number still left in the wilds, and the size of most of them, homes couldn't always be found, and zoos were beginning to get overcrowded. It was a shame, really. 

Having this on the mind, Meridian picked up a magazine that lay beside her bed, and started to read. _Pokemon Monthly_, read the title on the cover. It was a new issue, one that had just been delivered to her house the other day. 

The first line on the cover caught her eye instantly. _Pokemon Zoo to open in Scarlet City._

If it hadn't been so late, Meridian would have screamed for joy, all traces of the nightmare gone from her mind. Scarlet City was where she lived, and the last place you'd expect to find something as important as a Pokemon Zoo, which were opening up more often now to try and save as many Pokemon as possible, and to ease the overcrowding in existing ones. It wasn't exactly right to keep Pokemon in cages, but it was, she supposed, better than having them all die out.

She opened up the magazine to the article on the new zoo, and strated reading. Opening soon . . . one of the largest in the world . . . rare Pokemon . . . opening December 31. . . The whole thing was like a dream come true! She bent down and kissed to top of Vanyel's fuzzy head. "Hear that, Van?" she whispered to the little rat. "A Pokemon Zoo, here in Scarlet City. I'll take you some day," she finished with a smile. 

She looked at the clock beside her bed, then at the ever-so-slowly brightening light outside the window. 5:00. She might as well get up. Not like she really needed the sleep, anyway. Meridian rarely slept for more than six hours a night, even when she had to go to school the next day, so she was used to it. Besides, the 'pets' had demanding schedules, and she often woke up early to take the family Ponyta, Blaise, for a run around the park before breakfast. Speaking of . . . 

She walked back into the house half an hour later, hair slightly tousled from the wind, and was greeted by Vanyel and Seraph running at her, making noises that told her it was time to feed them. She grinned down at them, and walked into the kitchen. She opened a can of PokeChow for each of them, dumped it in a bowl, then grabbed an armload of stuff to feed the rest with. The same old morning routine of feeding, she laughed. No changes there.

As she worked, her mind drifted back to that article about the Pokemon Zoo. She still couldn't believe that something that important would come to as small a place as Scarlet City. But then again, she had her own sort of mini-zoo right at home. People from all over the town jumped at the chance to help her with her Pokemon, and she was more than glad to accept their help. But this was different. Maybe she could even get a job there once it opened up. 

Once everything had been fed, watered, cleaned, and walked, she started fixing her own breakfast, which consisted of a 'perfectly balanced' mix of chocolate milk, cereal, and a piece of toast. Glancing at the clock as she polished off the last bite of toast, her eyes widened. Ten minutes until school started! She quickly grabbed her coat and backpack, and ran out the door, locking it behind her to avoid anything getting out or in the house while she was gone. 

Deciding that the only way to get there on time would be to ride, she readied Blaise, and they sped down the street to the school.

Two whole minutes to spare. Meridian breathed out a sigh of relief as she hitched Blaise to a pole just outside the stables that were included on school grounds. Fortunately for her, her school was an expansive one, and taught many people that were interested in Pokemon of all types. Hence the stables. Out back, there was also a large pond for Water types to spend the day while their owners were in classes. Meridian was glad her parents had sent her here instead of some other place. This was the only school in the area that she knew of with Pokemon facilities. 

"Morning, Miss Loe."

She turned around to see the smiling face of Mr. Applegate, her homeroom teacher. "Good morning, sir," she responded with an equally wide smile.

"Cutting it a little fine this morning, aren't you?" he asked as he nodded his head slightly towards the school, where students were already beginning to file in through the doors.

She nodded. "I had some things to do this morning," she said. "Aren't you cutting it fine?" Mr. Applegate was one of the few teachers she found she could talk to in such an informal manner. Most of the other teachers weren't anywhere near as laid back and understanding towards the students.

He laughed. "I suppose I am. Had some things to do this morning myself, I guess." He paused. "Listen, I have something to ask you before class starts."

Meridian looked worried. "Was it about my last English mark? Look, I told Mr. Johansen that I tried to make the essay five pages long, but I just couldn't think of much more to write about, and besides, my writing's really small anyway, so it might as well have been five pages of someone else's writing, and I --"

He held up a hand to stop her, and she realised she'd been rambling. He chuckled. "Actually, for once, this has nothing to do with your tiny handwriting." Meridian was known to most teachers for having the neatest yet smallest handwriting most had ever encountered. Some joked that they needed to start bringing magnifying glasses. "I actually wanted to ask you if you'd read this yet?" he held up the latest issue of _Pokemon Monthly_.

She nooded. "Yeah. That's the one that says there's a Pokemon Zoo coming right here to Scarlet City!" Mr. Applegate was an avid Pokemon fan, just as much as Meridian herself.

He nodded. "Yes, it is. Now, the mayor has asked me to do some of the overseeing for the project, finding good habitats for the Pokemon that will be brought in, making sure they'll be properly taken care of, fed, groomed, exercised, and so on. It's a pretty big task, but the pay's right." He smiled again. "Anyway, I'm thinking perhaps that it might be too big a job for just myself, and neither the mayor nor the company bringing in the Pokemon have hired any other caretakers yet. I was wondering, Meridian, would you like a job?"

For a moment, Meridian couldn't speak. The chance to work at a Pokemon Zoo, surrounded by rare and powerful and beautiful Pokemon was something she'd never really dreamed could happen to her. Only this morning, she had been enthralled with the idea of simply visiting one. Now she was being offered the chance to work at one. "Me, sir?" she asked incredulously. 

He nodded again, and behind them, the bell signalling that school was starting began to chime. Neither one of them moved. "I've already talked to the mayor and PokeImports, the company that's bringing the Zoo here, and they say me having an assistant or two is perfectly fine by them. Your hours would be the same as mine. Five in the afternood until ten at night on weekdays, and a nine-til-five day on weekends. It's a lot of time, I'll admit, and it's a very demanding job for the both of us, considering we both have school to worry about." He chuckled. "But I'm pretty sure we're both up to it." he paused and looked her straight in the eyes. "That is, if you _are_ up to it." 

Slowly, Meridian nodded. "It'll be tough, considering I've got all those Pokemon at home to help take care of too, but I think I'll be able to handle it. Anything that helps bring Pokemon where people can see them is fine by me." She thought about that. "Well, unless people try to steal them."

Applegate frowned. "Yes, that's a concern I brought up with the mayor, too. With so many rare and strong Pokemon in one place, it'll be a prime target for a wave of Pokemon kidnappings to start. I suggested strict security on the place both before, during, and after construction, and he agreed. We're just trying to hunt down some good security guards now." He glanced at his watch. "Anyway, if you're interested, you start next Monday. Pay starts at $10 an hour, so you'll certainly have a little more cash in your pockets." he smiled. "Now, what do you say about us getting to class? I think the other students may be starting to plot torching the classroom if we don't hurry." 

Meridian laughed, and the two began to walk towards the school.

"Are you serious!?" exclaimed Daphne as she walked alongside Meridian after school. 

"Perfectly," answered Meridian, not bothering to hide her excitement. She had just finished telling her best friend about what Mr. Applegate had asked her that morning, and they were both practically jumping for joy in the middle of the streets. Daphne shared Meridian's love for Pokemon, though, as most of the other self-proclaimed Pokemon enthousiasts in the city, it wasn't as deep as Meridian's. Still, that didn't stop them from being ecstatic over Meridian's new job. 

"I just can't believe it!" Daphne said, her face split in two with a grin. "You're so lucky to be able to do this. Not many people get to see many Pokemon anymore, let alone work with them day in and day out." She sighed. "I just wish my parents had let me keep Ankara instead of making me get rid of her." Ankara used to be Daphne's Mankey until her parents had forced her to release it. They said it made too much of a mess in the house, and was too wild to be kept as a pet. The only thing wrong with that explanation was that Ankara was about as wild as a stuffed teddy bear. Her parents just hadn't seen that. They'd made her send it back into the wild, and both Daphne and Meridian knew it wouldn't be able to handle itself out there alone. It hurt them both to think about what may have happened.

On that note, Meridian tried to change the subject. "Aw, cheer up," she said as positively as she could. She'd loved Ankara like a pet of her own. "Listen, why don't you come over to my place and help me feed the gang. I could use your help. Maybe Blaise'll even let you ride her this time." Blaise was safely back at home now. Over the lunch hour, Meridian had taken the fire horse back home instead of choosing to keep her at the school stables for the rest of the day. Blaise had never much liked the stables anyway.

"You mean that?"

Meridian nodded. "Hey, only if she lets you," she smiled. "But I don't think she'll mind."

"God, is that all you two ever think about?"

They spun to see an obnoxious smile plastered on an equally obnoxious face. Daphne groaned, "Donovan . . ."

"That's my name," he answered. "And really, you two ought be concentrating more on your school marks than those stupid creatures that live at your house."

"Oh, pardon us for taking an interest in the world around us, Donovan," said Meridian icily. "But you can't blame us for noticing that the world extends to an area other than yourself."

A scowl replaced the obnoxious smile, and he glared at the two. "Can't take a bit of friendly advice, and all of a sudden you're throwing back the insults. What wonderful people you two are," he finished, dark sarcasm coloring his words.

"Donovan, the day you give friendly advice is the day I dress up in a Pikachu costume in front of the school and propose to Daphne," laughed Meridian. Even Daphne couldn't help smiling at that.

Donovan scowled, his face darkening with humiliation. "Get bent," he muttered as he walked away, his head low in his jacket collar.

Daphne shook her head. "I can't believe that guy. When will he leave us alone?"

Meridian shrugged. "Dunno. Just forget about him. he's not even worth it. Now, what were we talking about?"

"I think you were telling me I could have a rise on Blaise," responded Daphne with a grin.

The girls walked to Meridian's house, smiling and laughing all the way, and unaware that from a distance, three pairs of eyes were watching them.

There. It kinda leaves off at a really dumb point, but with the stuff that I plan to have happen in the next part, this is really the only place I could leave it. 


	4. Chapter 3

Salvation

Chapter 3

Meridian waved goodbye to Daphne as she walked home, and sighed contentedly. She loved spending time with her friend, despite the obvious differences between them. Meridian was from a rather well-to-do family, where Daphne's parent's often had a struggle to pay the rent on their small apartment. Daphne already had a job to help her family pay said rent, but Meridian had only just considered working today, when she'd heard about the Pokemon Zoo from Mr. Applegate. That was part of the reason that Daphne had been forced to give up Ankara. They just couldn't afford to keep the little Mankey anymore. The real thing that united the two, however, was their love of Pokemon, and it was also the thing that Donovan loved to make fun of them for.

They had both known Donovan for a good few years now, and they always wished they didn't. He was obnoxious, crude, uncaring. The only redeeming quality was his moderate good looks, but that wasn't much of a redeeming quality in Meridian's eyes. As Daphne tended to follow Meridian on most things, that was how she'd voiced her views too.

A small scuffling in the bushes brough Meridian out of her thoughts. She looked at the shrubs beside the door, and again heard the scuffling, and saw the leaves move. Curious as ever, she bent down to take a look at what it was, taking care to keep herself in a pose that would mean no threat to it, (if it was a creature, anyway), but to make sure she could jump back quickly if it attacked her.

Parting the leaves, she looked down, and her face instantly softened. A tiny Pichu lay curled up under the leaves, shivering with cold, and trying desperately to hide itself from any would-be-predators.It opened a tiny black eye to look at Meridian, then shook violently, tiny sparks jumping off its fur, but it made no move to get away. 

Meridian had learned enough about Pokemon behavior to know that the little Pichu had thought its time had come, and was accepting it, if not liking it. Her heart ached for the poor little thing, and, against her better judgements, she scooped it up gently in her arms, tucking her light jacket around it to help keep it warm, and carried it back inside the house. It was a foolish move for two reasons. One, the Pichu may have parents that still lived here, and Pikachu and Raichu were notorious for defending thir children at any cost. Two, it may be someone's pet. Baby Pokemon weren't often found so easily in the wild. Still, if it was someone's pet, she'd tear them a new hole for leaving such a defenceless creature out alone where anything could happen to it, and her own Pokemon could frighten off any Pikachu or Raichu that came looking for their baby. If none of those things happened, she'd found herself a new pet.

The first thing she did was to turn up the heat in the house, making it warmer for the Pichu. the Chu line didn't like the cold very much, and at such a young stage of development, they were especially vunerable to it. She lay the PIchu down n the chouch, still wrapped in her jacket for extra warmth. Second, she got a little bit of Pokemon food down from the cupboard, and mixed it in with some water to make it easier to swallow. She didn't know how long the Pichu had gone without food, and she didn't want to overfeed it or give it something it couldn't digest. She remembered from her books that the Chu line liked naturally sweet things, like apples, so she set aside a little applesauce for later, in case it felt like a midnight snack.

Vanyel trotted out of Maridian's room to see what the fuss was all about, and as soon as it caught sight of the new Pokemon, it stopped and sniffed the air. "Ratta!" it cried in confusion and indignance at its home being disturbed my a newcomer.

Meridian looked vaguely smpathetic as she pulled out a tiny spoon and carried to bowl of food over to where the Pichu lay. "Sorry, Vanyel, but this is an emergency. I'll introduce you two later, but right now, this poor thing needs food." She sat down and scooped up the Pichu in her arms again, cradling it's head and trying to tempt it with the promise of food.

It worked. As soon as the Pichu smelled the food and felt the spoon at the corner of its mouth, it opened its eyes and sniffed at it delecately, as if afraid to eat what its body cried out for. Cautiously, it stuck out a tiny pink tongue and tasted the thick substance it was being offered. Seeming to like it, it gave a weak but happy cry of, "Chu!" and commenced eating what was on the spoon.

Meridian laughed softly. This was a little survivor. 

Vanyel jumped up on the couch beside the two and got his first good look at the newcomer. It looked so small and helpless, moreso than he himself did. Vanyel knew that he looked small and weak, but he also knew he was far from it. His bite had caused more than one would-be thief to run away. This little thing, though, could barely shoot off sparks that would make his fur fuzz with static. It really couldn't survive on its own out there. 

The little rat's heart softened, and it began to inch its way to the feeding Pichu, who showed no objection. Soon, it was curled against the little yellow jacket-wrapped bosy that Meridian held, and the Pichu did no more than giggle at the furry warmth the Rattata offered. Meridian herself giggled at Vanyel's attempt and success at making a friend, and that made Vanyel feel so much better about having a new Pokemon in the house.

Soon the Pichu had eaten its fill, and had fallen asleep. Rattata jumped down as Meridian rose and carried the Pichu to her bedroom. Vanyel followed.

The newcomer is strange, thought the little rat. It's cute, but it smells funny, like danger and wild and things from far away. It doesn't smell at all like what is in this area. Vanyel himself wasn't exactly local. He had been found outside Crimsonton, which was a good three day's travel by Rapidash. (Two days by Pidgeot.) But he still knew how things smelled, and the Pichu didn't smell right. Maybe it was because it had been found when it was so near death, but he doubted it. Even near-death things smelled near-death, and the Pichu smelled well-cared for.

The only problem was, it still didn't smell like a Pichu.

Vanyel, before he had been found by Meridian, knew a tribe of Raichu in the wild, and was trusted among them as a bringer of food for the younger ones. He'd met some Pichu before, and he got along wonderfully with the little things, despite the fact that he always left with his fur standing on end from the static those things gave off. He knew what a Pichu smelled like. That thing Meridian brought into the house looked like a Pichu. It acted like a Pichu. But for all it smelled like, it could have been a Ditto! And Vanyel couldn't place the smell other than something wild and powerful and unknown.

Putting his apprehensions aside for his owner's sake, Vanyel kept quiet on the subject, and watched closely as Meridian tucked the Pichu into a little nest made of old clothing, and placed it gently next to the heater for warmth.

Meridian sat back on her heels and watched the little Pichu sleeping for a few minutes before she spoke. "Cute little thing, isn't it, Vanyel?" Vanyel slumped down beside her, a hurt but pleading expression on his little ratty face. Meridian chuckled. "Don't worry, it's not my favorite," she said as she picked him up and held him to her chest. "It couldn't replace you if it tried."

Vanyel felt somewhat relieved.

Pichu floated in a sea of fragmented dreams. Mostly bad images, bad feelings, bad smells and sounds that it didn't recognize. 

It always started off well. Being in a forest, surrounded by cool dark leaves and plants and sticks. The slight metallic feel that changed the air when a Pikachu or Raichu passed by. Happy times, when images were just starting to become clear to his eyes, and smells were just starting to take on meaning.

Then it always ended.

He could still hear the shreaks of frightened Pikacu and Raichu as they ran, or tried to defend whatever it was that had disturbed their peaceful forest life. The cries for help always ended quickly, though. That was the only blessing. He remembered being huddled against the bodies of his brothers and sisters, their warmth being his only comfort. They shuddered against him, none of them able to clearly see what was attacking them. 

But the smell was there. That hard and wild smell that none of them had ever smelled before in their short lives. It was strong and scary, powerful and unknown, so many things all at once. It overwhelmed them all as it drew close, the beast's huge form casting a shadow over the shivering mass. Then, as gently as a mother Raichu, it picked up the little Pichu between it's jaws, and bounded away, leaving the others behind. Pichu could see nothing but blurry shapes whisk by them, and feel the wind sting his little face, which was already wet and sticky from tears. 

Being fed food in a dark cave was what came next. His eyesight got better, but there was little to see in a place where only one wall had the light of day coming from it. The food was always meat, dead things that smelled bad and tasted even worse. Still, even one so young knew that it was either eat or die, so eat he did. He was sick and weak for the first little while, but gradually grew better when he realised that there was nothing else coming to him.

His only comfort really, came when he slept. He dreamed of the times before he was taken to the dark cave. He couldn't see anything in his dreams, but the smells, the sounds were always there. The feel of this brothers and sisters and they ran and tumbled on the soft warm grass, and the taste of berries in his mouth as his mother brough them something to eat. Then it was always interrupted, not by memories is being taken, but by the feel of a large creature, the creature that had taken him, curling up around him and giving him warmth in the darkness. 

He sometimes woke up to hear a soft and deep, "Rai . . . " come from the creature. He knew the sound from the elder of his kind, the Raichu, and began to associate the creature with one of his own kind. 

One day, after an unknown length of time in the cave, the Pichu was taken outside by the creature. The light hurt so badly, as his eyes had adjusted to the dark after all that time, and he cringed in pain as a first reaction. He felt a warm rough tongue run over his back, calming him, and then being picked up in the jaws of the creature. Once again, as they ran, he felt the wind on his face, but it didn't hurt this time, and there were no tears on his soft fur. It was a surprising amount of fun for the little thing.

Soon enough, though, it saw strange things, and began to get scared. Huge tree-like things make of stone, with clear block in some places, and noisy metal things on wheels that smelled bad and made him cough. The fun had ended, and he began to get scared. Where was he being taken.

He let out a tiny sigh of relief when the creature put him down behind a small bush, but he sqeaked in fright when he was it was right beside one of the stone trees. He begged and pleaded wordlessly to be taken away, but the creature paid him no heed. It ran off in a flash, and the Pichu could see it no more. 

Cold, frightened, and growing hungry, he curled up under the leaves of the bush and shivered himself to sleep.

Pichu woke up suddenly, and cried out, unsure of where he was. Things smelled strange, and he was full of warm food, but that didn't do anything to calm him down. Only the feel of soft fur suddenly against his own was comforting, and he soon clamed down and went back to sleep, however fitfully.

Meridian jumped up as soon as she heard Pichu's cries, then chuckled softly as Vanyel ran and curled his body around the mouse's. It seemed to calm Pichu down, and Meridian was relived. The poor thing must have woken up and been unaware of where it was. That happened sometimes when wild Pokemon were first being domesticated.In fact, it had happened with Vanyel for the first little while. Meridian was quite used to it.

Meridian yawned and pulled out one of her magazines and began to read glancing up at Pichu and Vanyel every once in a while. She flipped once again to the article about the Pokemon Zoo, and sighed happily. What a day. Finding a new Pokemon to take care of, even for just a short time, and finding she had a well-paying job with something she loved dearly. Things just couldn't get much better.

Pichu turned over in his sleep.

Meridian grabbed her backpack and ran out the front door, almost running head first into Daphne, who stood with her finger out and ready to press the doorbell. Meridian screeched to a halt before she hit her friend."Daphne!" she exclaimed. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Daphne shrugged. "Felt like dropping by so we could walk to school. Is that okay? You seem a little rushed."

Meridian laughed. "No, I just had my hands full this morning. I was afraid I was going to be late." She closed the door behind her and locked it, and slung her pack over her shoulder as the two started walking.

"Hands full with what? Blaise giving you some trouble?"

Meridian shook her head. "No, for once. It was actually a new Pokemon."

"A new one?" asked Daphne before Meridian could say another word. "Did your parents come back and give you one? What was it?"

"Actually, they didn't. I found it in the bushes just outside the house after you'd left yesterday. A tiny little Pichu, all curled up and alone. I had to take the thing in, or else something would have killed it."

"A Pichu!" Daphne's eyes widened. "I've never seen any of those around here, let alone in front of your house! How'd it get there?"

"I'm not sure, but it looked abandonned. I'm going to feed it and take care of it until it gets a little stronger. If it wants, then it can go back into the wild. Maybe its mother was with it and had to leave for some reason. Maybe she hid it in the bushes and planned to come back for it later. I don't know. But it's too small to go back out there alone now. It's my responsibility."

Daphne's eyes grew soft. "Can I -- can I come over after school and see it?" she asked quietly.

Meridian smiled at her friend. "Sure! You can help me feed it, even! But I warn you, Vanyel's taken a liking to it. If he even thinks you're going to hurt it, he might bite you." She held up a hand with a Band-Aid on the back. "He already tried that on me."

"But Vanyel's always been so nice!" said Daphne, surprised that the little rat could have hurt Meridian. "Why would he do that?"

Meridian sensed her friend's concern. "Don't worry, it didn't hurt, and he didn't mean any harm. He seemed a little suspicious of Pichu when I first brought it in, but now he's acting like the thing's guardian. He won't let me take it out of his sight, and he always has to be around it. He's really the only reason I left the house this morning. I didn't really want to leave Pichu alone, and if Vanyel hadn't been so protective, I would have stayed home today."

Daphne laughed. "I can just picture it!"

The girls walked to school that way, talking and laughing as they always did. Meridian liked things that way. She had never really had too many friends in school, her preoccupation with Pokemon and having to take care of the house while her parents were away so much had prevented her from making any lasting friendships. Then Daphne came along, and the two found things they could share, much more than any of Meridian's past friends. 

A few blocks from the school, Daphne stopped talking and grasped at Meridian's arm. "Do you smell that?" she asked.

Meridian sniffed cautiously at the air, and caught a whiff of smoke and burned wood. It was faint, but not coming along on the wind, which was blowing in the same direction the two girls were walking. Meridian nodded to her friend. "Yeah . . . Where do you think it's coming from?" she asked, their previous conversation lost now.

Daphne shrugged. "Dunno. But we could always go find out." Meridian nodded again, and the girls followed their noses as best they could.

It wasn't that they really wanted to see any burning building or people in danger. They both knew that even if they did find something like that, there'd be nothing either of them could do to help. But there was that curiosity nagging at them to find out where the smoke was coming from, and they couldn't ignore it. If nothing else, they'd at least have a good reason for being late for classes.

As they walked, the smell of smoke got stronger, and a mix between worry and excitement struck them. A fire this close to the school could mean no classes at all, or at least a more plausible excuse for being late. Many students would go to watch something so near, all thoughts of learning out of their heads for the brief moment that they watched the charred wood of a house, or a few dancing flames being quenched by water. 

Then, as they rounded the last corner by the school, they stopped dead in their tracks. The school, or what was left of it, lay in heaps of rubble and still-burning wood. The smell of smoke was almost overpowering; thank goodness for the wind blowing it away from them rather than towards them. Here and there, jagged pieces of pale metal stuck out, the last remains of students' lockers, and Daphne turned away when she saw something that looked startling like a bloody arm near one.

Meridian fought to find her voice again. "How - how . . . why did this . . . ?" She couldn't quite bring herself to say it. 

Daphne dropped to the ground beside her friend, her body shaking with barely-controlled sobs. "Please tell me I imagined it. Oh god, please, tell me I imagined it!"

Meridian didn't have the time to console her friend, however, as a glimpse of something moving amongst the smoking heaps caught her attention. Between who piles, a pair of gleaming red eyes shone at her, coming from a shaded but noticable red body. Her brow furrowed in confusion. A Pokemon? No, no Pokemon would be in this area after an event like this, and there was certainly nothing living in the area to have caused this.

Tragedy forgotten briefly, she ran over possibilities in her mind. No Pokemon could have done this, so maybe it was a group of them. But why? A gang of bad-ass Fire trainers? No, unlikely in a town like this. It may not be the best in the world, but it was relatively safe from Pokemon gangs. A terrorist attack? But why would they bomb a school, and why so thoroughly? More imporant, why weren't any other nearby buildings affected by what was so obviously a deadly blaze? 

Daphne stood up beside her, her breathing sounding somewhat shaky. "It's gone, isn't it?" she said, still unbelieving, even when Meridian nodded and agreed. There was a moment of silence, more out of confusion than respect for any who may have perished in this incident. The silence was broken, though, by Daphne asking, "What is that?"

Meridian followed her friend's gaze to the edge of the ruins, where she once again saw the reddish creature standing and staring at them. Then, without warning, it lept up and vanished. 

Daphne asked what Meridian was still wondering. "Was that a Pokemon?"

Meridian shook her head. "I don't think so. I really don't know. I've never seen anything like it before . . . " She shook her head. "Come on. We should leave, call the police and let them know about this, if the still don't."

They turned and walked back the way they came, going only a few steps before Daphne caught Meridian's arm again. "Meridian," she began. "Maybe . . . maybe I'm not thinking clearly right now, but this could be our chance."

Meridian turned to her friend, whose eyes shone with some pale glimmer of hope. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," she whispered hoarsely. "We're normally in school right now. When they find that mess, they'll all think we were in it, and think we were dead. If we go home now, we'll be the only ones left. But if we leave . . ." She let herself trail off.

Meridian's eyes widened as she fully realised what Daphne was implying. "Run away? Pretend we're dead? Good god, Daphne, people probably did die in that, and this is what you're thinking?! What is wrong with you?!" she cried, her voice rising in volume with every word.

Daphne paled, but did not back down. "I'm serious. Dammit, I can't go on like this at home much more, not when my interests lie elsewhere. You of all people should know that. And now I'm given the chance to go and get out of this city and actually make something of myself, and you won't even support me? I thought . . . I thought you'd be the first to think of leaving this place, going on the road and training."

Meridian sighed, trying to calm herself. "I would be, if I didn't have a future here. The Pokemon Zoo opens . . . I have all of them at home . . . mom and dad . . ." But try as she might, she couldn't find any solid thing that prevented her from leaving. Only her morals, which were slowly being pushed to the back of her mind, were telling her not to take such unfair advantage of a tragedy. She sighed in exasperation. "You're right," she finally admitted. "But still, I couldn't leave. All the Pokemon at home . . . that little Pichu couldn't survive a journey, not in the state it's still in! And my parents would wonder where I was."

Not if they think you're dead, came the thought in the back of her mind. They wouldn't think to look for you on the road. Meridian shook her head once again to clear those thoughts, and found that Daphne had once again begun to speak. "Take the Pokemon with you. You'll need them if we train, right? And this can be the start of new lives for the both of us. We talked about leaving once, remember?"

"Yes, but that was two years ago, under entirely different circumstance. No death, no burning piles of rubble, nothing like this," she countered. In the distance, police sirens began to grow louder, and the approach of cars was heard. 

"This is it," prompted Daphne. "Now or never. What's it going to be?"

Listening to the sirens draw ever closer, Meridian made the only decision that felt somewhat right, and she took Daphne's hand. "I'll come with you," she said, her voice sounding more certain than she felt. "But we have to go home first. I have a few things I need to pick up."

Daphne nodded seriously, and gently pulled her hand free of Meridian's. The girls walked along in silence, heavy thoughts weighted on their minds as they tried to ignore the sirens that had now stopped beside the wreckage of the school.

* * *

Yeah, I know, I wrote myself into a corner and couldn't think of a better ending for this part. The worst thing is, I still can't! _ So you're just going to have to deal with this until I get some creativity back or something.I could have made it a bit better, I suppose, but then one of my plans for a later chapter would have been blown to smithereens, and I'd rather deal with a prob;em now than the possibility of multiple problems later. 


End file.
